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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/27563416">Heads in the Clouds</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/fractualized/pseuds/fractualized'>fractualized</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>Batman - All Media Types, Batman: The Telltale Series (Video Game)</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>Cloud Watching, Fluff, M/M, Medication, Picnics</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>Completed</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2020-11-14</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2020-11-14</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-18 03:34:57</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>General Audiences</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>No Archive Warnings Apply</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>1</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>795</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/27563416</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/fractualized/pseuds/fractualized</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>After a tiff, Bruce and John have a little picnic.</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Relationships:</b></td><td>John Doe/Bruce Wayne, Joker (DCU)/Bruce Wayne</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Comments:</b></td><td>12</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>93</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>Heads in the Clouds</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><ul class="associations">
      <li>For <a href="https://archiveofourown.org/users/Mystrothedefender/gifts">Mystrothedefender</a>.</li>



    </ul><blockquote class="userstuff">
      <p>Wrote this in hopes of making a friend smile! And to do my part in getting more picnics into batjokes.</p>
    </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>John was tired, but he couldn't sleep, and he didn't want to be inside. Laying in the garden to watch clouds drift over the manor seemed a good way to pass the time– if he could focus. Bruce's self-assured, condescending tone kept echoing in his mind, all the way from yesterday.</p>
<p>"Would you mind some company?"</p>
<p>It figured that even Bruce's echo would be so strong and clear.</p>
<p>"John."</p>
<p>He blinked and turned his head. In the break in the begonia bushes that lined the patio, Bruce stood in the grass at the bottom of the steps. He held a basket with a red gingham blanket draped over top.</p>
<p>"Is it okay?" Bruce asked again.</p>
<p>John stared for a few moments. Then he looked back up at the clouds and replied petulantly, "I don't know."</p>
<p>Bruce was fine with that ambiguity. John heard him come closer, then caught a flash of the blanket as Bruce shook it out. He stared at the sky until his curiosity got the better of him and he glanced over.</p>
<p>Emptying the basket, Bruce knelt on the far side of the blanket. On the side closest to John sat a can of orange soda and a paper plate with a sandwich. John looked away and tore at the grass for a bit.</p>
<p>Finally he asked, "What sandwich?"</p>
<p>"Peanut butter and jelly," Bruce replied.</p>
<p>John sat up and peered at Bruce's place. "What kind do you have?"</p>
<p>"Roast beef and provolone."</p>
<p>"What if <em>I</em> want roast beef?"</p>
<p>"Do you?"</p>
<p>John met his gaze and lifted his nose. "Yes."</p>
<p>Bruce simply switched their plates. John scooted over onto the blanket and picked up his new sandwich.</p>
<p>"Smells delicious!" he declared of Bruce's favorite.</p>
<p>"I hope you enjoy it," Bruce replied kindly. He pulled out a bag of potato chips and some napkins from the basket.</p>
<p>John pouted at the lack of reaction, and his gaze was drawn to the PB and J. He still held the other sandwich in front of his face. "I guess you used the crunchy peanut butter."</p>
<p>Bruce sat crosslegged, ready to eat. "Mm hm."</p>
<p>"And strawberry jam?"</p>
<p>"Mm hm." Bruce reached for his plate.</p>
<p>John dropped the roast beef. "Give me that," he grumbled, switching the plates back. <em>Stupid thoughtful boyfriend,</em> he thought as his teeth sunk into the gooey goodness.</p>
<p>Once Bruce reassembled his sandwich, both men chewed quietly– or crunchily, when it came to the chips. They could agree on sour cream and onion, at least. And it was nice to eat out here, John admitted begrudgingly to himself. The clouds floating across the sun made it pleasantly warm instead of unbearably hot, and the garden's full bloom gave him a colorful view wherever he looked. A few flowers swayed under the weight of investigative bees. He and Bruce could make lunch outside a regular thing, once John wasn't annoyed.</p>
<p>John was wiping his greasy fingers with a napkin when Bruce spoke again.</p>
<p>"I'm sorry for irritating you," he said. "I know adjusting to the new medication has been rough."</p>
<p>John crumpled the napkin and tossed it at the basket. He missed. "I should've said no."</p>
<p>"If it's not better than the old drug after things level out, I'll sue," Bruce said with a shrug.</p>
<p>John snorted. "You should."</p>
<p>He fidgeted a bit, then moved across the blanket to sit next to Bruce. He leaned over and thunked his head into Bruce's shoulder.</p>
<p>"I <em>am</em> thinking about my next step out here"– out of Arkham– "I just..."</p>
<p>Bruce tousled John's hair as he asked, "Do you really want to talk about that again?"</p>
<p>John breathed out, relieved. "No." He cast his eyes back to the sky.</p>
<p>"See anything good up there?"</p>
<p>John hummed. "Plenty of bunnies as usual, but you know how they are." He pointed to the left. "Teapot with steam coming out." To the right, more over their heads. "Jealousy."</p>
<p>"Uh, are you sure that's not... a flying dove?"</p>
<p>"What?" John scoffed. "You're hopeless. Come here."</p>
<p>He grabbed Bruce's shoulder and pulled him backwards so they fell onto the grass. John pointed over their heads and traced the lines.</p>
<p>"See, that's the upward curve of good news– oh boy, Corrie got that great promotion– and then the slope <em>dooooowwn</em> into the realization that you have been filing for ten years, and not because you like it."</p>
<p>Bruce had angled his head into John's so he could better follow the path of his finger. "I see."</p>
<p>"Yeah? How about that one, at nine o'clock?"</p>
<p>Bruce rested his hands over his stomach and thought for a few minutes. "That's discombobulation. One piece, but pulled in so many directions."</p>
<p>John contemplated that. "Yeah, seems right."</p>
<p>"Or it's a poodle."</p>
<p>"I'll dump the chips on your head."<br/>
<br/>
<br/>
</p>
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